2015 Conference

Full Presentation Panel

Modern Global Feminism and Environmental Awareness: A Logical Union

Sarah M Johnson, MA

This paper addresses the necessary connection between transnational feminism and pro-environmental behavior as the most logical step forward to increasing women’s rights all over the world.  We cannot study the environmental crisis without noting the injustices suffered by the poorest global citizens.  Nor is it possible to decouple that poverty from environmental instability, and its most likely recipient: women.  In most societies throughout the world women’s social realities are not identical to men’s.  Generally speaking, women have fewer resources, less access to the highest paying jobs in any given society, and unfortunately, fewer societal resources to protect and shield them from the grim realities of poverty.  Thus, it is women who tend to suffer more in times of economic crisis, at least when compared to the lives of men.  Additionally, environmental instability increases the risk of any nation experiencing an economic downward turn, and in particular, agriculturalist societies in which the stability of the climate is the determinant of agricultural yields and thus, survival.  It is well documented that the carbon emissions from industry in the developed world has rendered the global climate unpredictable.  Therefore, it is the working logic of this paper that (1) as modern feminists, we must closely scrutinize our ecological footprint, our consumptive behavior, and our desire to consume, especially as it relates to the perpetuation of poverty and thus, inequality for women all over the world, and (2) as women’s studies educators, or sociologists of gender, we must begin to critically examine our own behavior and bring a healthy dose of this attitude with us into the classroom as role models.

The Polar Archives of Anna Schwartz

Judit Hersko

his performance lecture examines polar exploration and science in the Arctic and the Antarctic through the fictitious archives of an unknown, female explorer, Anna Schwartz. The narratives as well as the objects in the archive build on real events including the biographies of women associated with polar exploration. The presentation reflects on the exclusion of women, as well as Arctic natives, from the official history of exploration and science in the Polar Regions and connects this exclusion to the heroic imaginary of the polar landscape. From whaling for baleen used in Victorian corsets to current climate change science this layered narrative explores a feminist aesthetic of loss in the era of the Anthropocene. It also suggests alternative approaches to studying and relating to the nonhuman world.

Anna Schwartz is a photographer and a naturalist obsessed with the microscopic and transparent planktonic snail the Limacina helicina and its predator the Clione limacina. Her intimate relationship with these tiny creatures is in contrast to the heroic notions of exploration of her day, while ironically, her focus on the minute and invisible layers of the landscape is more relevant to current research in polar science. These planktonic snails, studied by my scientific collaborators, function as canaries in the coalmine when it comes to ocean acidification - one of the most insidious aspects of anthropogenic climate change that is rapidly altering the food chain and ecology of the oceans. Even the shells of live planktonic snails dissolve under acidity levels predicted for the near future. These effects are occurring much more rapidly than previously expected in all regions (including the California coast) but especially so in the cold waters of high latitudes such as the Polar oceans.

Assessing Student Attitudes toward Environmental Science and Environmental Problems: Is there a Gender Gap?

Lydia A. Dixon

Research suggests that women are more likely than men to rate environmental concerns highly (e.g., Zelezny, Chua, & Aldrich, 2000). Less explored are differences in how men and women think about the complexity of environmental problems. This research presents data from a survey of students enrolled in courses in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2012-2013. Questions captured student attitudes towards and awareness of complexity of environmental problems and views on learning environmental studies. Students used a five-point Likert scale to rate their agreement or disagreement with statements on the role of science, policy, and values in addressing environmental problems and the importance of using quantitative, communication, and integrative skills in learning. Preliminary analysis indicates that women agree more strongly with statements that highlight the scientific, policy, and values oriented complexity of solutions to environmental problems, while men agreed more strongly with statements that suggested science should direct policy-making, and decisions should not be made without scientific certainty. On learning, men preferred to learn environmental science through more traditional scientific methods, such as solving equations, analyzing diagrams, and taking examinations. Women preferred interactive approaches, including giving presentations and engaging in dialogue with the instructor. Results suggest that men have more confidence in using science in problem-solving. Women view environmental problems as complex and are less confident in science as the primary solution to problems. These results suggest that instructors may wish to consider diverse strategies for student engagement to capture the strengths of both male and female students. Similarly, assignments should aim to develop both scientific competency and appreciation of complexity inherent in environmental problems.